Clever Witch

by Nikki Dean

  "I never said tha-" he began to protest.

  "Cut the bullshit, Damon. You have said it, and if not, you've definitely implied it. Like just now, telling him that I'd never give him any privacy? Like I'm the kind of girl that would listen in on his conversations while I'm not with him, or even have the time for that shit? You do realize that I have classes, and homework, and an entire life that doesn't revolve around Nico, right?"

  A tiny fracture of injury echoed on her web, but it was quickly brushed off. She reached back and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward to his chair. He sat, allowing her to lean against his side for a second. His light glowed in her mind.

  "I love Nico. Really, I do. I wouldn't ever hurt him, or invade his privacy." Anymore. "You do realize that he only knows about this magic because I told him about it, right? If I wanted to spy on him, I wouldn't have said anything."

  Damon looked away, unable to argue her logic.

  "She told me, too," Matt chimed in. "She didn't have to, but she did."

  "So again, what the fuck is your problem with me?" she demanded.

  He was quiet. They all were. She stood back up in disgust. "I never would have thought you were a coward, Damon. An asshole, sure, but not a coward who prefers to talk shit behind a girl's back, then stays quiet in front of me."

  His eyes flashed and anger flared on her web as he jerked his head up to look at her. "Don't fucking call me that."

  "Then don't act like it."

  Damon lunged forward with a growl, slapping the top of the table. Dice snarled and Nico pulled Mallory back into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist, shaking his head when she tried to get up.

  "Nico, stop!" she demanded.

  "Don't," he said. "She's right, you have been being a dick to her, and you know it. I trust her."

  It was the third time he'd said the words, and this time they seemed to have an effect. Damon sat back down, shaking his head. "Everett is going to be furious."

  "Probably. But he'll have to deal with it. She's not going anywhere."

  "Unless it's to jail for murdering your friend when he's an asshole to me," Mallory muttered, glaring at Damon.

  Alec grinned. His gaze had been bouncing back and forth between them for the entire exchange.

  "You can try," Damon muttered. There was a grudging bit of respect in his tone. "How clearly did you hear everything?"

  "Crystal."

  "And how far does this new magic reach? Could you do it to just anyone, or is it specific to Nico since you're so close?"

  She shrugged. "I don't really know. I haven't tried it with anyone else."

  "Not even Matt?" he asked.

  "Nope. This is the first time it's even come up with Nico."

  "Well, then let's try it out."

  Chapter 9

  They spent another hour or so working on her new magic, splitting Nico and Matt up to see if she could keep track of two conversations and giving her dozens of codewords to remember. Mostly candy names when Alec got to choose.

  It could have been worse. Could have been porn star names, Mallory was sure.

  She got them right every time.

  "You can never - " Damon began.

  "Tell Fitzam, I know," Mallory interjected. "Believe me, I don't plan to."

  "So, why tell us?" Damon asked as they shut down the lights to leave. They'd all decided to stay at the dorm again that night, then spend the next afternoon cleaning up the haunted basement. Mallory refused to call it anything else.

  Rosie, the red snake, had slithered back over to her feet when it was time to go. She now rode in the front pocket of Mallory's sweatshirt as they walked through the woods.

  "I thought about not telling you. Just pretending that I didn't hear anything," Mallory said. Damon nodded. "But I didn't want to lie to any of you. Nico and Matt are important to me, and you're their best friends. I don't want to hide anything from you. Any of you."

  "Sooo..." Alec trailed off with a wicked grin. His long hair was loose around his face, falling in gentle curls that Mal somehow hadn't expected. "You totally figured it out during sex, didn't you?" he whispered loudly.

  Matt and Mallory punched him at the same time, earning a laugh. Mallory narrowed her eyes and reached out to him on her web, wondering if she could do it.

  She watched the way his magic moved inside him, so very similarly to how Janae's moved. It infused their entire being, turning each of them into one big ball of magic energy. Alec’s was different though, because his magic turned in on itself again and again, amplifying inside instead of radiating out like Janae’s when she healed someone.

  Tugging on his strand to bring him closer in her mind, she pictured magic radiating out through her arms and legs, like it did through his. It wasn't so different than turning her magic off and on, or putting the wall down in front of Everett's powers.

  It was all just energy, more or less the same thing in different forms.

  She reached out her hand and pushed Alec's shoulder, sending him stumbling a few steps. They all turned in surprise and she grinned.

  "I may have figured it out," she said. "Just now. Use your magic on me, Alec."

  "Ha. I'd crush you," he scoffed.

  "Fine, do something else then. Break that log or something," she said, pointing to a fallen tree limb that was resting in the dirt.

  He did it easily, snapping the eight-foot-long log into two pieces. They made a dull thud as he dropped them back to the ground.

  I think I saw how his magic worked. It's in his muscles, but also wrapped around him like a coat of armor. It helps him to do things, acting like a catalyst. The magic isn't strong on its own, but it makes whatever he does a thousand times more forceful.

  "I can see your magic on my web," she said. "Let me try."

  They had formed a loose circle, and the guys all stepped closer when she knelt to pick up the limb. It was heavy at first, but she imagined her magic changing, strands of her web pulling in to wrap around her arms.

  She lifted. Her arms shot up above her head as she tried too hard, nearly throwing the log straight up.

  "It's so light. What happened to it?" she asked in surprise.

  They all gaped at her, Alec most of all.

  "Break it," he ordered. "Pull it apart and destroy it." The urgency in his voice was a little strange, but Mallory was curious to see if she could.

  She tugged, trying to pull it apart like he had. It didn't budge. Mallory frowned. "I thought this would work."

  "Why are you trying to pull it apart like taffy?" Matt asked. "Why don't you break it like a stick?"

  Mallory shrugged and tried to bend the log between her hands, like she would snap a Popsicle stick. It flexed, cracking along one side.

  Mallory smiled, then brought it down over her knee. Pain shot up her thigh, but the log splintered in half over it, leaving her holding two pieces instead of one.

  Alec whooped and rushed her, scooping her up and twirling her around. She dropped the logs and laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. Matt’s and Nico's excitement hummed on her web as well.

  "Great job, Bunny!" Nico said. He waited his turn, then gave her a hug as Dice leaped around them in the leaves, unimpressed by the moment. Matt was last, pulling her close before he planted a kiss on her lips.

  She melted beneath him, enjoying the moment as his lips moved over hers. He pressed on her chin with his thumb and she opened for him, allowing him inside.

  Alec's sharp whistle pierced the air and Mallory flipped him off. He laughed.

  "Break it up, we need to try more stuff. I wanna see what she can do," he urged after the kiss went on another minute. Mallory felt Nico come close and she turned her head to receive a kiss from him, too.

  "That was awesome," Nico said. "I want to see what else you can do, too."

  She shivered as Matt's hands slid beneath her sweatshirt, seeking bare skin. Rosie twisted in her front pocket, reminding them all that she was still there. Matt jumped back as she
stuck her flaming head out to see what was going on.

  Mallory pulled away from them both to pull the snake out and set her down on the forest floor. Rosie slithered off into the leaves, blending in almost immediately.

  "Well, that was stupid," Damon finally said. "Now you're bleeding."

  She looked down. It was true. A piece of the log had broken off when she slammed it over her knee, stabbing through her jeans to her skin beneath. "It's not bad though, just a little scrape."

  One sharp tug freed the sliver of wood from her leg. It wasn't bleeding much, barely enough to soak through. Mallory was honestly surprised that he'd noticed.

  "Let me see," Alec said as he knelt in front of her. He was so big that she still had to raise her knee so that he could look at it, and she wobbled on one foot.

  Nico was there instantly, holding her steady. Matt took a second longer, but he came up on her other side, wrapping his around her waist, too. Damon just rolled his eyes.

  "The hole isn't big enough to see through. I'm going to rip it."

  "No!" She jerked her knee back as Alec stuck his finger into the hole, intending to make it bigger. "Don't rip up my damn jeans! What are you thinking?"

  "That I should make sure there's nothing left in there before you walk back home?"

  She kept glaring.

  "Fine. Have it your way. Clean it when you get back to the dorm, though."

  She put her foot back down and took a step. It twinged a little, but nothing major enough to bitch about in front of Damon.

  "Happen to you a lot, Alec?" she guessed.

  "No, actually. My skin is pretty strong too, so nothing really hurts me. I'm surprised that you weren't the same way, if you were copying my magic."

  She stopped, thinking about it. Matt looked down at the slowly spreading bloodstain and grabbed her arms, pulling her onto his back. Mallory squirmed a little until he grabbed her thighs, holding her still.

  Oh... The heat from his palms sank through her jeans, leaving little imprints behind. She relaxed into it, suddenly unwilling to get down.

  "I was focusing on my hands," she said. "And my arms so that I could break the log. I wasn't trying to make myself invincible. Maybe next time."

  "Call me and we'll practice any time," Alec replied. There was a little smile in his voice and she eyed him suspiciously, even though she couldn't tell why. There was nothing technically wrong with his statement, but still.

  "We never really decided what we're doing out here. Are Matt and I moving into that dump until we catch Pohler, or what? Should I just empty my dorm room?"

  "Nah, leave most of your stuff there and try to use my magic to go back and forth. You want to try it out next?" Nico asked. "Since you figured out how to do Alec's on purpose?"

  "Not while her knee is hurt," Matt interrupted. "Using super speed with an injury sounds like a terrible idea."

  “Can you heal it?” Nico asked. They all looked at her.

  "I can try. I haven't healed anything on myself before, and Janae said that she can't."

  "But your magic isn't hers," Damon said. "It's only copying hers. What have you healed?"

  Mal tilted her head, thinking about it. "Pretty much just her, and I tried it on Matt a little. I didn't have to use it for him or Dice because they didn't have any other injuries."

  "Try it," Alec suggested. "See if you can use her magic now, too."

  Matt stopped and let her slide from his back. She concentrated, trying to envision the magic going from her soul back into her knee to make it whole. Nothing happened.

  "I don't think it's going to work, guys. I pictured part of my magic traveling on my web to help Janae that time, but can't focus the web on myself. I'm already at the center." She opened her eyes as Matt scooped her back up and began to carry her back toward school.

  "That's fine. We can work on it later."

  "How's your head feeling?" Nico asked. "You gonna pass out on us any time soon?"

  Shaking her head no, she reached out to him with one hand. Nico caught it easily and held on while the walked.

  A girl could get used to this.

  Chapter 10

  They split up with Damon and Alec before they got back to school, and Nico ferried Mallory, Matt and Dice back up to his dorm room this time. He'd shrugged when she asked why.

  "Seemed like a better idea than yours. We don't know who might be watching it."

  Mallory lay down on his bed, stretching out as she stared at the ceiling. "How did the maintenance guy know to come fix my door?"

  "He wasn't a real employee, I'm guessing," Matt answered. "Pohler probably sent him to make you think a report had been filed, and that you were safe. Instead, it was just a lackey giving him another way in." He looked over at Nico. "Good call replacing the locks on both sides of her suite."

  "Of course." Nico stretched out beside Mallory on the twin bed. It was a tight fit, and got even tighter when Matt joined them.

  "Scoot your ass over," he demanded, climbing over her. "I thought I was the one that needed rest."

  Mallory grumbled as she tried to rearrange, then squeaked when Nico picked her up, laying her across him. Matt scooted close, folding his arms behind his head.

  "Okay, then," she said, a little breathless. The mere thought of being in bed with them at the same time had been thrilling, but actually doing it was intoxicating.

  And they still had all of their clothes on.

  Mostly.

  Nico's hands strayed to the bottom of her shirt, pushing the hem up to reveal her bare skin. He rubbed it, teasing her with his fingertips until she arched.

  Matt shifted onto his side and just watched. They were too close not to touch no matter how he lay, so he brought one knee up over her ass.

  Which pressed her hips down firmly against Nico's erection.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm not ready for all of this," she said as she pushed against Nico's chest. I totally am. "Shouldn't we figure this stuff out? Like why I can suddenly use your magic, and Alec's in the woods?"

  "Is that really what you want to talk about right now?" Nico asked. "Because all I can think about is that phone call you made this morning. Did you and Matt enjoy your movie?"

  Mallory swallowed hard. Are we seriously going to talk about this right now? What do I say? "Mmm-hmm."

  "Did you make it all the way to the end?" he asked, running his hands higher. Her shirt rose even more and she bit her lip to keep from curling into him.

  "I think Mal saw the end twice, actually," Matt joked.

  She blushed, tucking her head against Nico's chest.

  "How would you feel about watching it again?" he asked, rocking his hips up. It was impossible to mistake his meaning.

  It was tempting. Oh, so very tempting, especially when Matt's hand slid up over the back of her leg. Nico pulled her higher for a kiss, and she felt Matt's surge of impatience as he waited for his turn.

  "I never get tired of this movie," she murmured, going along with the joke. "I heard its sequel might even be better than the first one."

  Matt feigned outrage as he pulled her over for another deep kiss. His lips left her panting, as usual, and Nico wasted no time pulling her shirt up. He palmed her breasts over her bra as he kissed her neck, causing her to moan into Matt's mouth.

  His hand tightened on her ass and he dipped his fingers down between her legs to rub at her center from behind. Mallory allowed herself to fall into their minds, letting their arousal overwhelm her senses. She ran one hand over Matt's side and beneath his shirt while she brought the other to the back of Nico's head, holding his lips to her skin.

  Nico lifted her and scooted down, bringing his face even with her breasts. Matt kept kissing her as Nico tugged the front of her bra down, freeing her from its confines.

  His lips closed over her nipple just as Matt sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, biting it lightly. Mallory gasped at both sensations, her legs clamping down on Nico's sides as she grabbed his hair. Nico groaned, and Matt mirr
ored the sound.

  Heat built around the three of them, weaving its way in and out between their bodies. It was accompanied by darkness as the shadow magic wrapped around them as well, quickly sliding through Mallory's clothes to tease bits of her body that they guys hadn't even gotten to yet.

  Mallory arched against Nico's mouth as he switched sides, pinching and pulling on her abandoned nipple with his fingers. Matt reached down and brushed his hand aside, replacing it with his own.

  Rhythmic pounding echoed through the room. Mallory paid little attention until Nico cursed.

  "What's wrong?" she asked. Matt kissed her again, pulling her against his body as Nico got up from beneath her.

  "Someone's at the door."

  "Tell ‘em we don't want any," Mallory murmured. Heat streaked through her as Matt pulled one of her thighs over his hips and rolled, forcing her to straddle him. He drove upward, grinding against her clit.

  Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head, it felt so damn good. Between the sensations streaking up her center, making her pussy clench in anticipation, and the ghostly echoes of his pleasure, Mallory wasn't sure how much more she could take.

  All of a sudden, Matt sat up, then rose onto his knees. He kept one arm around her, holding her firmly against him as he crawled to the end of the bed. She was about to ask questions when he pressed her back against the wall, out of sight from the door.

  Which someone banged on again.

  Mallory looked over and realized that Nico had been waiting for them to move. His eyes darkened and she felt a throb of primal lust shoot through him at the sight of Matt holding her against the wall. Her legs were around his waist and he rocked against her again, picking up a rhythm as Nico stared.

  "Hurry up and tell whoever it is to fuck off," Mallory demanded. "So you can get your ass back to bed and do all the things you promised we'd do with Matt."

  Matt groaned in her ear. "You guys talked about this? About us taking turns making you come before we each fuck you stupid?"

  "Nico promised to make you hold my legs open while he eats me," Mallory whispered back, her eyes locked on Nico's the entire time. "Remember, babe? Since I wouldn't let you go as slow as you wanted that first time?"